SARASOTA COUNTY (WSNN) – Sarasota County students learning in-person are getting their school lunches, but what about those learning from home?
If your child is learning remotely, Sarasota County Schools has you covered. Food and Nutrition Services is providing five breakfast and lunches for every needing school lunch.
“We have a heart for feeding kids, and we want to make sure that our kids have plenty to eat so that they’re fueled up to learn,” Food & Nutrition Services Director, Sara Dan said.
The meals are charged based upon student’s status, so free-reduced or paid.
“We’re just hoping that parents if they’re in need of food or just would like to have some elements of normalcy during all of this that they’ll come and pick up the meals from our locations,” Dan said.
You can order on MySchoolBucks, a web/mobile app to pay into your child’s account.
A parent can expect to pick up a meal with two fruits, two veggies, an entrée, milk all in one package. And if your child has a food allergy, you can let them know, and they’ll accommodate.
To receive meals, orders must be placed before 5 pm every Thursday. And then pick them up, the following Tuesday.
Not all schools are on the same pickup schedule. Some schools are not offering pickup. Just some of the details to be ironed out in this new program.
For example, one parent told us, “My elementary kids are in their virtual classes at the time they set for pick up…It’s shame they didn’t think of that when planning this.”
Dan says parents can call FNS to set up alternative pick-up times.
“If they are having some sort of problem, that they just contact our central office and we’ll work with them to meet their needs,” Dan said.
The number for the central office is 941-486-2199.
But for Stacy Woodruff, she says it worked out perfectly for her son who goes to Alta Vista Elementary. She says, “I was actually able to pick up and was also a few minutes late and they still let me pick up! Thank god! My son receives free/reduced lunch so this is a BIG help to us!”
When picking up, you need identification.
“A school ID, a copy of the birth certificate they can show us, a copy of the report card,” Dan said. “We’re required by the USDA to make sure.”
Since this is the first week, Dan says there isn’t any info on how many families have used the program. She says she expects numbers to grow over time.
